With not much action happening on the MLB level, and not too much more Cubs roster to talk about and breaking news to share, I thought I'd turn your attention to the lower levels of the Cubs' farm system, starting with the Triple A affiliate of the Cubs, the Iowa Cubs.
If you are unfamiliar with how a teams' farm system works, or what prospects are, let me offer a simple explanation. Players are drafted by a team from high school or college, and when that team drafts them, they start training in that team's farm system, starting with the bottom, usually a complex league or rookie league. Then they jump to the official minor leagues, starting with Low A, and they work their way up to the Triple-A level from which it is one step to reach MLB.
Of course, teams trade prospects, and that team now fits that player into their system, which might be the same level, higher level, or lower level. So, all teams have a variety of players either drafted or gotten by trade or off waivers and assigned to the minor leagues.
The first area that we'll cover in the Iowa Cubs is pitching depth, and we'll go through and list some of the pitchers likely pitching for the Iowa Cubs in 2022, be it a short time or the whole season.
Predicted rotation:
- RHP Cory Abbott. Abbott made his MLB debut this past year and pitched 17 innings with a 6.75 ERA. The other part of the season he pitched for Triple A and made 19 starts, pitching a 5.91 ERA in 96 IP. He'll likely start the season with Triple A, but his role with the Cubs is still in the air, even with him being a starter by trade.
- RHP Anderson Espinoza. He has received in the Marisnick trade with the Padres and started in High A and then was promoted to Double A, where he pitched a respectable 1.35 ERA in 13.1 IP, with 3 starts being made. He is on the Cubs 40-man roster, so although he is yet to appear in Triple A, I expect him to move up there seeing his success in Double A.
- RHP Caleb Kilian. He was received in the Bryant trade and pitched in Double A with the Cubs and also pitched in the AFL, seeing some great success. With talk that he'll be contributing on the MLB level in 2022, I expect him to be pitching in Triple A and also making his MLB debut.
- RHP Ryan Jensen. While he has not pitched above Double A, he has seen great success in lower levels, and many believe he'll be pitching in MLB in 2022. He has a career 3.25 ERA in 92 IP.
- RHP Matt Swarmer. He moved up from Double A to Triple A in 2021, and had a 5.22 ERA in 89.2 IP, compared to a 3.13 ERA in 23 IP in Double A. He'll likely be pitching in Triple A all season long, to gain more experience and see his numbers even out.
- LHP Ben Holmes. Although I'm not sure if he'll start in Triple A, seeing how he struggled in Triple A in 2021 and 2019, he is on the Iowa Cubs roster as of now, so I'll just mention him here. He has a 6.52 ERA in 9.2 IP (2 starts) in 2021, and a 6.32 ERA in 2019 with the Dodgers.
- LHP Brailyn Marquez. While he has not pitched past Double A, he made his MLB debut in 2020 and Hoyer expects to use him as a "pitching weapon" for the Cubs in 2022, so I don't expect him to spend too much time with the Iowa Cubs.
Those are my predicted rotation for Triple A, and it might not be all season long because some (like Kilian, Jensen, and Abbott) might play some in the big leagues, and I'm not sure if Holmes or Espinoza will be starting in Double A or Triple A (though both will likely start in Triple A).
Other pitchers will be contributing innings for sure in Triple A of note, even if not starting, are as follows:
- LHP Stephan Gonsalves. With no minor league options left, he'll doubtless get plenty of time with the Cubs as a relief pitcher but will likely start the year on the Iowa Cubs. In 2021, he had a 4.15 ERA in MLB and a 4.68 ERA in Triple A.
- LHP Bryan Hudson. He moved up from Double A to Triple A, and posted a 27.00 ERA in Triple A compared to a 3.13 ERA in Double A. He'll likely be getting more experience in Triple A in 2022.
- LHP Scott Kobos. Kobos moved from Low A to Triple A in one season, and posted a sub-1.00 ERA in all levels besides Triple A. Pretty crazy, but his talent is obvious, so he'll likely spend 2022 adjusting to more competitive settings in Triple A.
- RHP Ben Leeper. He had a very solid year in 2021, pitching 14.1 IP in Double A with a 1.26 ERA and then moving up to Triple A and posting a 1.31 ERA. He has a 37-40% K rate, so he has some really great stuff. Expect him to get some more experience in 2022 with the Iowa Cubs.
- LHP Brendon Little. He's spent his entire career in the Cubs' organization and got the promotion to Triple A in 2021. He posted a 3.44 ERA in 18.1 IP with the Iowa Cubs, having a 31.3% K rate and a 52.1% GB rate.
- RHP Dakota Mekkes. He's been in Triple A since 2018 with the Cubs, and in 2021 he put up a 4.74 ERA in 38 IP and has a moderate 20.5% K rate and a 44.1% GB rate. I don't expect him to stay in Triple A forever, so perhaps he will make his debut this year?
- LHP Locke St. John. The Cubs signed him this offseason from the Tigers, and he's shown some good success in the minor leagues but had a rough start to the MLB in 2019 with the Rangers. I expect him probably to get some MLB time in 2022.
- LHP Conner Menez. The Cubs got him in the MiLB Rule 5 draft from the Giants and he posted a 3.86 ERA with the Giants this past season. He has no MiLB options left, so definitely will be playing in the Cubs' bullpen sometime this next year.
These are the most note-worthy, but there are other pitchers on the Iowa Cubs roster:
- LHP Andres Bonalde
- RHP Sheldon Reed
- LHP Luis Angel Rodriguez
- RHP Aneuris Rosario
- RHP Erich Uelman
- RHP Darius Valdez
- LHP Didier Vargas
- RHP Blake Whitney
So, definitely top-heavy on the righties in the rotation, and top-heavy on lefties in the bullpen. It'll even out with some making it on the Cubs MLB team, some pushed down to Double A, etc. Overall, I like what I see as far as pitching depth goes, and also the number of pitchers ready to contribute on an everyday basis to the Cubs.
These are a list of pitchers with Triple A that I can see contributing to the Cubs in 2022:
- Caleb Kilian
- Brailyn Marquez
- Ethan Roberts
- Cory Abbott
- Stephan Gonsalves
- Conner Menez
- Locke St John
So, I'm excited for the future of all these guys, and I definitely see a lot of potential there!
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